This new ASU codifies portions of an SEC Staff Announcement made at the July 20, 2017 Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF) meeting essentially delaying the effective date of the revenue recognition and leases standards for a subset of public entities. The SEC Observer made the following SEC Staff Announcement, “Transition Related to Accounting Standards Updates No. 2014-09 and 2016-02,” at the July 20, 2017 EITF meeting:

“The SEC staff would not object to a public business entity that otherwise would not meet the definition of a public business entity except for a requirement to include or the inclusion of its financial statements or financial information in another entity’s filing with the SEC adopting (1) ASC Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018, and interim reporting periods within annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019, and (2) ASC Topic 842, Leases for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020.

A public business entity that otherwise would not meet the definition of a public business entity except for a requirement to include or the inclusion of its financial statements or financial information in another entity’s filing with the SEC may still elect to adopt ASC Topic 606 and ASC Topic 842 according to the public business entity effective dates outlined above.

This announcement is applicable only to public business entities that otherwise would not meet the definition of a public business entity except for a requirement to include or the inclusion of its financial statements or financial information in another entity’s filing with the SEC. This announcement is not applicable to other public business entities.”